3440: Seven Ways To Improve In Running That Doesn't Include Running by Lea Genders of Lea Genders Fitness

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[00:00:30] This is Optimal Health Daily. Seven Ways To Improve In Running That Doesn't Include Running by Lea Genders of LeaGendersFitness.com And I'm Dr. Neal Malik, your host and narrator. Happy Monday. Thank you so much for being here. And welcome back to a new week of Optimal Health Daily. This is where I read to you from some of the best health and fitness blogs on the web. Kind of like an ongoing audio book, but with articles and blogs instead.

[00:00:55] Now I'm going to keep this intro nice and short, so let's get right to today's post and start optimizing your life. 7 Ways To Improve In Running That Doesn't Include Running by Lea Genders of LeaGendersFitness.com In order to become a better runner, the number one thing you should be doing is running.

[00:01:19] The first piece of the puzzle to get into place is consistent running, because consistency is the foundation of any successful plan. Slowly build a running base until you're running 3-4 days a week for 5-6 weeks. Once you build this base, you can start to think about working on speed, strength, and adding more mileage. Whether you're a beginner or an advanced runner, there are ways to improve your running that doesn't include running.

[00:01:48] 1. Get Your Nutrition On Track Proper nutrition is important for all people to look, feel, and perform their best. But for athletes, it's even more important. Work to achieve a balance of healthy carbs, fats, and proteins from mostly whole food sources, to not only fuel your run, but to enhance recovery and feel your best. Follow the 80-20 rule to eat according to your goals 80% of the time,

[00:02:14] and leave 20% open for foods that you enjoy, but may not be optimal. 2. Get Enough Sleep Most of us don't have to choose between sleep and a workout, but if it came down to the choice of a one-hour workout or one hour of sleep, how do you think the experts would advise you to spend your time? If you're not getting at least the seven hours of sleep that most people need each night, the answer is sleep. Going to bed at midnight and setting your alarm for 5am to work out

[00:02:44] is not doing your body any favors. Not getting enough sleep per night can reduce the benefits of healthy eating and exercise. When you don't get enough sleep, your cortisol levels, which is a stress hormone, can rise, which can be associated with fat gain. In our busy lifestyles, sleep is often the first thing to get slashed, but knowing how important it is for recovery and improvement, it should be given a higher priority, especially for athletes.

[00:03:12] 3. Build Rest and Recovery into your workout schedule Resting isn't laziness. Just like sleep, rest and recovery are essential to improve your running. Our bodies adapt, improve, get faster and stronger during rest, not during the workout. We need to allow our bodies the proper time to recover. This includes taking full rest days after hard workouts and alternating hard and easy days throughout the week.

[00:03:40] 4. Add Strength Training My favorite topic, which is the basis for this blog and my personal training business. Strength training for runners can make you a stronger, faster, less injury-prone runner. You don't have to become a gym rat to reap the benefits of strength training. There are plenty of equipment-free, quick and efficient strength workouts in my archives that you can try at home to get started. 5. Add Stretching or Foam Rolling

[00:04:10] When you run and only run, you sometimes can develop muscle imbalances. You have overactive muscles that are working too hard and compensating for underactive muscles that are not able to do their jobs. One way to help prevent muscle imbalances is to strengthen the weak muscles and stretch or foam roll the overactive muscles. I recommend foam rolling before you run and stretching the overactive or tight muscles immediately following your run.

[00:04:40] 6. Get on your mental game Running is as much a mental sport as it is a physical one. I am not suggesting that if you visualize yourself running fast that you will magically win your next marathon, but having a strong mental picture of success goes well with your physical training. If you think positively, act positively, and ban those negative thoughts, it can make a difference in how you perform. 7. Find an Accountability Partner or Running Coach

[00:05:09] We all need support. Whether it's for accountability, emotional support, or technical help, I suggest finding a partner or coach to help you stay on course. Pun intended. Friends can be a great motivator to exercise. Sometimes we feel more obligated to others than we do to ourselves. We may not think twice about canceling on ourselves for our daily workout, but if we know we have someone counting on us, we are more likely to show up so we don't let them down.

[00:05:37] If you don't have any friends or family interested in exercise, consider finding an accountability partner online, joining an exercise class, a running group, or hiring a coach. You just listened to the post titled, 7 Ways to Improve in Running That Doesn't Include Running, by Lea Genders of leahgendersfitness.com. And I'll be right back with my commentary. When summer rolls around, I sweat just thinking about how heavy my clothes are.

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[00:08:26] we think we have to repeat that one move or that one exercise over and over. For example, if you want to increase the amount of weight you lift as part of, let's say, your bench press, you should keep performing bench presses. If you want to become a better runner, just keep running. Now, this is true to some extent. Just as Leah mentioned, this is great, particularly for beginners. But what happens when we reach those dreaded plateaus, where we can't seem to add any more weight to the barbell

[00:08:55] or can't seem to run any further or faster? Well, that's where incorporating other forms of training and other exercises can be so helpful. You may wonder, why would I strength train when I just want to be a better runner? Well, it turns out that by incorporating strength training, you're forcing your body to adapt to a new form of activity. As a result, the body becomes more adaptable, or said another way, more efficient. It will be able to perform better

[00:09:25] when faced with any type of activity you throw at it. That's why so many published exercise guidelines incorporate a variety of training modes. Cardiovascular training, muscular strength, and muscular endurance training, and flexibility. That's because if the body is well-rounded, it can take on almost anything we throw at it. And that means better results, even when it comes to something like running. All right, that'll do it for the Monday episode. I hope you have a great start to your week,

[00:09:54] and I'll be back here tomorrow as usual, where your optimal life awaits. I hope you're going to be an end. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.